2015 Diyarbakır rally bombings

The 2015 Diyarbakır rally bombings occurred on 5 June 2015 in Diyarbakır, Turkey, during an electoral rally of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) at 17:55 local time. The bombing took place two days before the June 2015 general election and killed 5 supporters, injuring over 100. A suspect known to be close to ISIL was arrested on June 6 in Gaziantep. By August, suspicions as for the perpetrators had continued to lie on ISIL.

2015 Diyarbakır rally bombings
Part of Electoral fraud and violence during the June 2015 Turkish general election
Location Diyarbakır, Turkey
Coordinates37°54′48″N 40°13′1″E
Date5 June 2015 (2015-06-05)
17:55 (EEST)
TargetPeoples' Democratic Party supporters
Attack type
Bombing
Deaths5
Injured100+ (some claimed 400+)
PerpetratorsDokumacılar

The HDP, having been identified as a mainly pro-Kurdish party, had been targeted on numerous occasions prior to the bombing, with party offices being faced with arson attacks and vandalism. Two bombs had previously exploded in the HDP's Adana and Mersin branch offices, injuring three party activists. The HDP's Diyarbakır rally was due to take place on 5 June, which was the last day before the election in which rallies were allowed.

Two bombs exploded at the rally, just before the party's chairman Selahattin Demirtaş was scheduled to speak. Initial reports by Mehdi Eker, the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, claimed that two people were killed, and over 100 were injured, with the rally being disbanded following the incident. Initial reports that the explosions could have been caused by the transformers nearby were dismissed by Taner Yıldız, the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, who stated that an investigation by the Ministry revealed that the transformers had been tampered with from the outside.

The Prime Minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu, offered his sympathies with the wounded and called the bombing a 'provocation' just 48 hours before election day.

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